Confiance
by ochita127
Summary: Setsuna leaves Konoka. Disclaimer: I don't own Negima.
1. Chapter 1: At the Break of Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own the series.

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><p>June xx, 2014<p>

A blinding flash of light tore through the skies around Mahora Academy and vanished as quickly as it appeared. One would instantly mistake it as a flash of lightning, especially if you were indoors. But those outside the Academy could actually see that it came from one of the rooms of the dorm tower.

The latter was the case for one blonde-haired vampire who was calmly sipping her tea at the time. She sat on one the patio of her magically enchanted home and was able to witness the event. The small woman smirked and placed the cup back on its saucer. One of the things she liked being immortal is having known most if not all forms of magic. She knew that kind of light and was a hundred percent sure of who were the cause of it.

...

"Mhm... Secchan," Konoka mumbled as she snuggled closer to the warmth beside her. Skin brushed skin as Setsuna shifted on the bed to pull the young mage closer. After a terse day of battling demons threatening to leak out to the normal world, Konoka was reminded of the time she almost lost Setsuna and took their relationship a step forward. The duo have finally admitted their feelings, much to everyone's relief, with each other after they came back from Mundus Magicus and of course one thing led to another. Now, after their first passionate night of love making, the two could barely move under the covers of Konoka's bed.

"I love you," the young mage managed to whisper as she settled on the crook of her ministra's neck.

"I love you too," the swordswoman replied before adding silently, "..Kono-chan."

Of course this didn't go unnoticed by Konoka and wasn't able to bite back the smile that now etched her face. Though that nickname still seemed foreign to her ears, she couldn't help but to feel glad that Setsuna only showed this side of her when they're both alone.

...

Setsuna jolted awake after getting a not so friendly feeling. She was a light sleeper and of course was aroused when she felt something wrong. She looked around the room and relaxed a bit when she sensed nothing. Only then she remembered that Konoka was with her on the bed just in their birthday suit. The half demon blushed at the sight and was glad that the mage didn't wake up from her slumber despite Setsuna jolting.

_'I guess she really worn herself out,'_ Setsuna thought admiring her lover's sleeping form. Konoka was curled up beside her with her upper body exposed due to Setsuna who dragged the covers down a bit. Her eyes wandered around the exposed body that lay beside her and couldn't help notice the well-endowed chest of her lover which was currently rising up and down in sync with the mage's breathing. Heat immediately went back up her face as she remembered what they did last night. Of course Konoka would be knocked out like this after their intense and passionate love making. It was just due to her lineage and training that she was able to sense the unusual feeling and be able to wake up at - she looked at the digital clock on the bedside table - 3 in the morning. She sighed and shook her head_. 'Maybe it was just a bad dream that woke me up. But still, I can't help to feel and check it out.'_ She looked at the figure beside her who slept like a log. _'I guess an hour outside can help me ease this feeling. Just to be sure.'_

Setsuna slowly crept out of the bed, making sure that Konoka wouldn't wake up. She fixed up the covers so that Konoka wasn't exposed anymore before collecting her clothes on the floor and put them on one at a time. As she finished putting on her clothes she noticed a faint glow on top of the bedside table just beside the digital clock. Upon further inspection she noticed that it were two pactios one with her and the other Konoka's. She picked up the one with her in it for further inspection. _'Is_ _this... new?'_ She couldn't decide.

The card seemed new but the contents looked ancient. She could barely decipher the writings on the card except for her name. She picked up Konoka's and noticed the same thing. Even their clothes seemed different and not to mention their poses. It seemed that the design of their clothes were made centuries ago and matched each other albeit little differences such as hers were clearly designed for a man. This earned a raised brow. Pocketing both cards she figured she would visit Evangeline later to find out. She then grabbed Yuunagi from the wall and left Konoka's room glancing at the latter before she closed the door.

...

Konoka woke up with a yawn and stretched her limbs. Her body was a bit sore but despite the feeling she was happy. She and Setsuna had finally gone all the way and she couldn't be much happier than she was before. Turning to one side she blindly tried to feel the supposed body next to hers. Feeling only the sheet and pillow she opened one eye to double check if she was just possibly more than an arm's length away. Now seeing nothing but an empty space before her she quickly sat up and frantically looked around.

No Setsuna in sight. She looked for Yuunagi and wasn't able to. Even the clothes Setsuna wore last night were nowhere in sight. It's as if what happened never took place. She glanced at the clock and it read 9:03am. Konoka's chest suddenly felt tighter. She knew if ever Setsuna went on patrol she'd always be back no later than 7 in the morning. She expected that Setsuna would be in bed with her when she woke up especially because of last night. Trying to ease the feeling she had, she rationalized that maybe her partner was held up somewhere in the castle probably by her grandfather discussing over the safety of the school. Konoka gathered her thoughts and decided to look for the other woman. She picked up her clothes and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower before heading out.

...

Asuna was with Negi eating breakfast in the school's cafeteria. Ever since they graduated, Konoka had moved out of their dorm and moved in to a new one with Setsuna. She poked on her food in distaste. She really missed Konoka's breakfast and couldn't help but compare that the food from the cafeteria was, as she can say, not Konoka's famous pancakes. Negi on the other hand had no problem in eating his meal consiting of rice, miso soup and egg rolls.

"I miss Konoka's cooking," Asuna sighed and sulked on the table, Negi not minding because he was already used to morning banters like this from Asuna.

"Oh!" Asuna sat up straight in a flash and put her hands together signalling that she thought up an idea. "Maybe if I go to Konoka and request that she make pancakes, she'll cook me some!"

As if on cue the heir of the Magic Association came through the door looking around for something or someone. Spotting them, she approached the two and sat down infront of them.

"Konoka!" Asuna exclaimed seeing the person she was lookin for in front of her. "I was just about to look for you!"

"Have you seen Secchan anywhere?" Konoka asked as if not hearing Asuna. Her face seemed sullen and worry laced her voice. "I can't seem to find her anywhere."

"The bird brain?" Asuna put her hand under her chin in thought. "Well, earlier we passed by each other as I was on my way to pick up the newspapers for my job, she looked like she was searching for something and told me to be careful."

"What time was that?" Konoka asked.

"A bit past 3 I think," Asuna answered before adding. "She didn't show up for our morning spar so I thought maybe she had something important to do, as what usually happens if she doesn't show up. Have you asked Mana or the old man?"

"Well, I saw Tatsumiya-san, and she was also looking for her, since she didn't show up for her shift also muttering about payment or something, not that it's unusual for her to do that," Konoka tried to recall. "About gramps, I was about to go there, but I figured I try to look for you first."

"Ah, Konoka-san, have you tried your pactio to communicate with her?" Negi spoke up coming into the conversation.

"Oh! I haven't thought about that. Thanks Negi-kun," Konoka's face lightened up and she fumbled with the pockets of her skirt. After searching all her pockets her hand came out empty. "Funny, I usually put it in my pocket."

"Maybe you forgot it in your room," Negi supplied. "I used to have that kind of problem but I found out a spell where I can magically store them into space and call them out whenever I need to."

"Hey, Negi, you still have a pactio with Setsuna right?" Asuna asked interrupting both of them. Negi looked and nodded at her. "So, why don't you try and contact Setsuna."

"Oh! Right," with a wave of his hand pactio cards lined up one by one infront of him and scrolled through the lot looking for Setsuna's card. Patiently he scrolled through his collection tree times before crunching up his nose in frustration. "Setsuna-san's card is missing."

"What?!" Both women were alarmed at the statement and moved behind Negi as he scrolled through the cards once more.

"Yours too Konoka-san," Negi said with surpise. "Your card is not here as well."

"But how is that possible?" Asuna asked.

"Somehow, the contract between us was broken," Negi explained. "Though this is the first time I encountered this. Maybe we can look for Chamo and ask what happened."

"I hope we find that ermine, he usually disappears for a while when we need him and show up when we don't," Asuna muttered but was heard by the other two.

"Maybe you should go look for your card Konoka-san, to check," Negi suggested. Konoka nodded and left for their room.

"Hey Konoka wait! I'm coming too!" Asuna followed grabbing Negi's arm dragging him with her.

"Asuna-san! I-I'm not done eating yet!"

"You can eat later, for now, Konoka needs help and we need to find that ermine asap."

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><p>And that's the first installment for this series! I tweaked the other story so that's going down and this will replace that :).Reading the new installment of Negima really hyped me up and look back to this series. Thus this story which I wrote ages ago came back to me. Hope you like this!<p>

For my other fics. I'm trying to renovate those right now since some of them didn't reach my expectations and I realized that the plot would just lead to nowhere.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The room was a mess. Cabinets were open, contents scattered on the floor, bed astray, basically the whole room looked like it was run over by a hurricane. Konoka, Asuna and Negi sat on the small cleared space on the floor breathing heavily.

"Where can it be?" Konoka asked openly. They looked everywhere in the room and there were no traces of any pactio cards anywhere. Tears started to form in her eyes but she fought it, refusing to let even a drop fall.

"I guess it is best to ask the dean, Konoka-san," Negi suggested. "I mean, we're out of leads here, and if we should ask what's happening around here, I'm sure he has an answer."

"Yeah," Asuna agreed. "That gramps has eyes over the school."

Silenty Konoka looked over the mess that is her room. Asuna put a hand over her shoulder making the mage look at her.

"Negi and I will clean this up and continue to look for your cards," Asuna said. "You should go to the dean."

"Thanks Asuna, Negi," she nodded to the both of them. "I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can."

...

"Gramps!" Konoka burst thru the door without knocking and walked with hurried steps toward her grandfather's desk. For an office the place sure was unnecessarily big and empty save for the desk and a few cabinets on the side. It took more than a few steps before she came face to face with her grandfather. Emotions threatened to escape her chest and she tried to calm her breath before speaking. "Where's Secchan?"

The dean stopped whatever he was doing the moment she made her entrance and silently observed her. Still keeping silent, he stood up from his seat and walked to the side near one of the many windows of the room very much aware of his granddaughter's gaze upon him as he let out a heavy sigh. "She left."

Stunned at the answer, she took a moment to process his words.

"What do you mean she left?" She asked getting her voice back. Her brows furrowed at the news and impatiently waited for an explanation.

"She left," he repeated himself not even sparing a glance to Konoka before continuing. "Earlier this morning she just came to my office and requested that she be relieved of her duties."

"And you let her go just like that?!" Konoka exclaimed. She wanted to scream. How can her grandfather let her leave like that? Too many thoughts came running through her head. She didn't even notice that she had begun to shed tears until she already had a hard time breathing.

"She is not someone we can contain, Konoka," Konoemon's voice stern and sharp. He chose this time to turn his head and look straight at his only granddaughter. "I know of your relationship with her. To tell you the truth I'm not that favorable with it."

"So you let her go?" Konoka was fuming with anger. She clenched her fists at her side. "Y-you let her go, just because you don't approve of us?!"

"I would've sent her away long ago if that was what I wanted," he spoke calmly making eye contact to emphasize his point. Konoka calmed down a bit and he returned to gazing outside his windows. "I was actually surprised by her request to be relieved of her duties. I didn't expect it, knowing about the fact that you two are dating each other. But she was adamant about it."

"Why?" The question escaped her lips before she could even process what she said.

"You know of her heritage, right?" Konoemon asked.

"Yes," came the simple response.

"She was not clear about it but she told me that it was important and that she had to leave immediately," he explained. "Then I asked what about you."

Konoka's sudden interest became tenfold and immediately asked. "What did she say?"

"She told me, to tell you," Konoemon started with a heavy air in his voice. "To forget about her."

"N-no," it came out as a whisper and Konoka shook in place as her eyes directed towards the ground. She couldn't - wouldn't - believe it. Setsuna wouldn't tell her that. "You-you're lying! Setsuna wouldn't tell me to forget her!"

"Then where is she?" Konoemon sneered. Obviously offended at the remark. Konoka was effectively silenced by this and the room went silent as well save for the sound of Konoka's sobs. But soon the sound of hurried steps leaving joined then a sound of a door opening and closing came before everything went completely silent.

Konoemon let out a heavy breath he had been holding. He felt sorry for his granddaughter. But he recalled Setsuna's words and knew that this was the best he could do for her.

...

_Flashback_

_"Why?" Konoemon asked with a serious tone. He should be anything but calm. She was asking him a ridiculous request._

"_There is an ongoing war in the demon realm, and I received the news of my father's death just this morning," Setsuna explained. "Before he died he sent for me, requesting that I replace him as their leader."_

"_I don't mean to pry but you're going back to the demons who shunned you out?" Konoemon laced his fingers together in front of him. "Weren't you exiled and forbidden to return?"_

"_They have reconsidered," Setsuna said forming the words to explain the situation. "Being in such situation they are desperate. And I couldn't deny my father's request. He was the reason why I'm alive today."_

_Konoemon knew Setsuna's story. The common practice for crow demons who were born with albinism was death. Sacrificed to their gods as an offering to compensate for their sins. Because they believed that when one albino demon is born is the gods' way of telling them that their tribe was condemned. But her father fought for her, allowing her to live but in exile. Moving the thought in the back of his mind he was reminded of something else, or rather someone. "What about my granddaughter?"_

"_Sir?" The question made Setsuna double back._

"_What about Konoka?" He repeated._

"_I was hoping you'd find a suitable replacement when I'm no longer around," she said._

"_You know very well that's not what I was talking about," he countered._

"_What do you mean, sir?" Setsuna was confused._

"_I know you are currently dating my granddaughter," he said as a matter-of-fact. "What will you do?"_

"_I-," Setsuna was at a loss of words. She didn't expect that Konoemon knew about them. Still, in seriousness, she had thought about it and considered the possibilities. She loved Konoka and would go as far as to die for her but her father needed her and she owed him her life. She already made a decision and her chances of returning are slim to none. Finally deciding on what to say she spoke up. "Please tell Ojou-sama that I am sorry."_

"_You wouldn't say your goodbye's?" he questioned, one eyebrow raised._

"_I can't," she answered. She knew that if she personally spoke to Konoka, she wouldn't be able to have the strength to leave. She kneeled in front of him bowing down on the floor hoping that he would understand her. "Please, tell her to forget about me."_

_Konoemon sat in silence looking at Setsuna. He already knew what she was talking about. Even like this she was still thinking about his granddaughter. She was still thinking about her well-being even to the point of having Konoka hate her. He felt his heart reach out for this woman in front of him. After all she already was like family to him. Though he may not have preferred her as Konoka's partner at first, he saw the sincerity and loyalty that Setsuna had for his granddaughter and conceded to the thought that Konoka couldn't have chosen any better. It's just a shame that now she was leaving for a personal cause, and he felt weak for not having the strength to stop her._

"_Very well," he agreed after a long moment of silence. "But you have to promise me one thing."_

_Setsuna lifted her head to look at Konoemon._

"_Don't die," it came out not as a request but an order. Both knew the purpose of such promise. After all they were both looking out for the same person._

"_I won't."_

…

Konoemon could only shake his head at the memory. The only reason that he had allowed her to go in the first place was to protect Konoka. And Setsuna knew about that as well. Both of them had the same goal and formed this unspoken agreement between them. He could only wish her luck and hope that she succeeds. After all she not only holds the fate of her clan but others as well.

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><p>So that's the second installment for this fic! This is a 100% makeover of the original but still the plot is the same. Has anyone read UQ Holder already? Any thoughts about it? Feel free to drop a message. I'm currently intrigued about it right now and couldn't wait for an update.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

July XX, 2014

To say that the month that passed by was hell is understatement for Konoka. The first few days she locked herself in their – now her – room in seclusion. Asuna and Negi knew that he trip with the dean didn't go well the moment Konoka burst thru the doors with tears in her eyes. Asuna tried to ask what happened but they were forcefully shoved out of the room with the door slamming in front of their faces. Both of them shared sympathetic looks and decided to leave the mage for a while. They figured she needed space for now, they could satisfy their curiosity another day.

A week after that and still no sign of Konoka, Asuna took it upon herself to barge in through the doors and get the woman out of seclusion. Her heart dropped at the sight of Konoka passed out on the living room table gripping a picture of her and Setsuna taken way back in cinema town. She also noted the room's disarray and took the liberty of cleaning up a bit before waking up Konoka. It took her about half an hour before she decided to wake the mage up.

In the end she successfully woke Konoka up and spent the rest of the afternoon consoling the woman. She eventually found out what happened and bore hate towards the swordswoman. Deciding that it would do no good for Konoka to be alone she suggested that Konoka move back in with her and Negi. Now, three weeks later, the mage had definitely improved but still had traces of remorse over what happened.

Presently Asuna mused over the past events while waiting for Konoka to come out of the bathroom. _'She's been there for quite a while.'_ She noted and looked at the clock to confirm that Konoka had been there for almost an hour. Still waiting at the couch she thought about Konoka's progress over the month. Sure Konoka was okay, as far as okay can be, but she still saw the sadness in her eyes from time to time. And she was glad that her episodes of staring into the air had gradually decreased and she was more attached to reality recently. Though what piqued her is that despite of what happened Konoka held no hate towards the swordswoman. Before she could delve in more to her thoughts she heard strange noises coming from the bathroom and worry immediately filled her and went to check upon her friend.

"Konoka, are you okay?" She knocked on the door waiting for a response but she got none. Panic rose and she went to look for the key to the bathroom. Finding it on the key holders she scrambled to get the door open.

Konoka was sprawled out on the floor obviously unconscious with her hand hanging on the toilet seat. Fearing for the worst she looked for any signs of blood on the mage and relaxed a bit when she saw none, though she noticed a pungent smell and looked over the toilet to see vomit and panicked once more. Picking up Konoka she set her on her back carrying her to the school's clinic.

...

Setsuna sat at the end of a long table with crow demons sitting on both sides. The chair she sat on used to be her father's seat and seemed too big for her lithe form. Amongst the people in the room, she was the only one who looked human. The officials who sat with her towered her lithe frame as they proudly showed their heritage.

Setsuna knew none of them wanted her there let alone be their leader. But they respected the late Tsuna, Setsuna's father, too much to abide by his wishes and also for the fact that they had to, by law.

"If we continue to rally up north, our defenses would dwindle and we'd be out in the open." They were currently discussing about the current situation of their army. Before Tsuna's death, they had planned on taking the north territory from the snake demons that currently hold the place. The plan was to corner the snakes into submission in which they were almost successful but they were ambushed by the cat demons from the east and they were forced to retreat. That was when Tsuna got hit by a venomous senbon and eventually died of poison.

"We could ask for help with the wolves," one spoke up. The wolf clan was one of their loyal allies ever since centuries ago. Wolves were known for their loyalty and this has been proven by the tribe. One can even say that their loyalty was bordering to blindness.

"But they have other problems to attend to, even with the support of the oxes, they are barely defending the west territory." The realm war, as they called it had already turned upscale. The New Order, as they called themselves, wanted to change the status quo of the world. They wanted the world to fear them and have them under their feet insulted by the fact that despite of their power, they had to follow and obey those weaker than them. Now Setsuna knew from history that it was not the reason for their containment. Thousands of years ago the demons did rule over the magical world and wanted to rule over the human world as well. But not all of the clans agreed to it as it would cause more death and destruction. Thus, they made a deal with the mages that fled to the human world to stop the threatening force and the demon realm was created. That was also when the Kanto and Kansai Association was formed. The Kanto Association held power over the human world while the Kansai held power of the magical world. They were like the regulating bodies of both worlds and handled the peace negotiations with one another allowing free access to both worlds. Over the years they had attained the peace they aimed for and most of the demons and humans had learned to live amongst with each other in peace. Though there were still those who refused and stayed in their realm.

"We cannot risk being defenseless and we would need to help out the west," another spoke up. "We should delay the attack and focus on our defense."

"No," Setsuna disagreed and all the demons in the room turned to look at her. "We will continue the attack up north."

"What are you saying you brat?" The nearest crow demon complained. "Even though you're the new leader here doesn't make you entitled to kill all of us in battle. We have been defending these barriers for years and we know what's best for us."

"That's the only thing that you've been doing the past years," Setsuna countered. "There must be a reason why my father wanted to go on the offensive this time, and we have to trust him on that."

"Still how do you suppose we do that?" Another question came. "If we attack north the cats would attack from the east and overthrow us!"

"Then we will attack east then north," Setsuna explained. "The snakes are the ones who took too much damage and would certainly be focusing on the defense. But don't forget that the cats too joined the fray and took damage as we. Going for the east would not only be our offense but our defense as well."

The room stirred with murmurs and the demons whispered with each other. It was long after when another spoke. "But as you have said we took damage and with the forces we have we would barely overtake the cats but by then we won't have enough to attack the north let alone defend ourselves."

"I already took that into consideration," Setsuna said knowingly. "If you would allow it, I have called upon my comrades who would be willing to help us. I'm just waiting for your approval."

Murmurs filled the room once more before the last crow demon who spoke up gave his approval. "I would agree to your plan." Soon the others gave their approval as well and Setsuna looked at the crow demon to her left, the one who called her a brat, and waited for his response.

"I.." He started still unsure of his decision. He knew her plan was far better than what the rest of them had in mind and he surely was mistaken about this half demon. Thinking the worst of her he was embarrassed to say the least. "I.. would agree with the rest. And I would like to offer my apologies for calling you a brat, Setsuna-sama."

Setsuna gave a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement. She knew that she would have to earn the tribe's trust to effectively lead them and she felt that after a month of staying with them she had finally made progress.

Setsuna now sat on the bed of her room, a guest quarters for she could not yet occupy the room of her recently late father out of respect, with a small chest on her lap. Before adjourning the meeting she had told them to meet once more after three days to continue the plans. She personally went to the messenger tower and requested that the letters be delivered right away. With nothing else to do she retreated to her room fiddling with the lock of the chest in front of her.

It had been a month since she left and she felt guilty for doing so every day. She wanted to go back, and tell Konoka, but she knew that the mage would persist and come with her and she couldn't risk that. After all she was the reason why she's here in the first place. Aside from respecting her father's wishes this war is the only thing stopping the New Order from completing their goal. The previous encounters with demons trying to go to Mahora Academy were only proof that they were after Konoka. And what's more disturbing is that even mages, who noticeably sided with these demons, are also after the heir who possessed magical powers that even surpassed the Thousand Master's.

Thinking about it made her miss Konoka much more and she decided to open the chest. There revealed the cards that she took the night she left. It was the only thing that she had close to a picture of Konoka. She traced the mage's features and marveled at the beauty of her girlfriend. 'I guess she's not anymore. After what I did, 'I don't deserve her.' She frowned. 'I hope that you can forget about me Kono-chan. I hope that you would find someone who wouldn't leave and hurt you like I did.'

Tracing her fingers throughout the card she was still in awe with the uniqueness of the cards and remembered that she was supposed to ask Evangeline what these ancient letters were that surrounded the card and why was that Konoka was in a card that matched hers. Usually only the ministra was imprinted on both cards and each had a copy, one for the use of the magister and the other for the ministra to call upon his/her powers. Deciding that thinking about would be of no use since there was no one to answer her she placed the cards back in the chest and locked it before storing it away with the rest of her things.

Standing up she changed her clothes and got ready for bed. She had to get up early tomorrow and train. Also, some of the people she called for might already start to show up by tomorrow and she had to be ready.

Asuna sat beside Konoka who currently lay down on the bed of the school clinic. The mage had just recently regained consciousness and was waiting for the mediwitch who checked up on her earlier. With the sound of the clock as their only companion in silence they patiently waited for the woman to show up. Konoka rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes feeling a bit fatigued while Asuna looked outside the curtains from time to time. Getting more impatient she was about to stand up and look for the woman but the said mediwitch opened the curtains before her with what looked like a chart in her hands.

"Sorry for the delay, I had to double check on some things," she said before Asuna can speak up. Konoka heard the woman's entrance and opened her eyes to let her know that she was awake. "Oh, you're awake Ojou-sama. How are you feeling?."

"Fine," came the short reply. The mage was still feeling a bit nauseated and weak but overall she was fine.

"Well, it's good to hear you're doing better," she acknowledged going through the chart she had. "Though you still have a long way before you can recover a hundred percent."

"So what happened to her?" This time Asuna spoke curious to what happened.

"She just had a bad case of fatigue," the woman explained further moving her attention to the mage on the bed. "I take it that you've been under extreme stress lately?"

Konoka could only nod.

"Alright," the woman took out a pen and wrote something down on the chart and continued talking. "So, I'm going to give you some vitamins to take every day and you also need some supplements. Also, you should take a break for at least a week to recover. It won't be good to stress your body further, or else you'd have complications later on in the pregnancy."

"WHAT?!" Asuna couldn't help but to react violently over the information. And Konoka lay there with eyes in disbelief."What do you mean pregnancy? Konoka's not pregnant!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was under the impression that you already knew since you confirmed that you were under stress recently," the mediwitch apologized.

"She's suffering from a different kind of stress," Asuna fought back.

"I'm sorry," the woman repeated. "I went over the scans earlier and double checked since I noticed some irregular patterns in her scans. That's where I found out that she was indeed pregnant and had jumped to the conclusion that you already knew since she was already a month into her term."

"So you mean that she's really pregnant?" Asuna asked not getting the explanation. "As in a hundred percent pregnant?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "Exactly four weeks long."

Asuna looked over at her friend who sported a blank look, eyes cast down on the sheets. A month ago she was on the same condition and now she's returning to that state once more. She couldn't help but feel more sorry for her friend. Not only did Setsuna leave her, she left her with child. Oh how she was going to beat the bird brain to death when she finds her.

* * *

><p>Alright! That's Chapter 3.<p>

I feel that I need to explain their ages here as I think it would cause a ruckus. In the Negima timeline when they graduated as 3-A I assumed that it was from senior high and doing the math they would be 18 by that time. Now, a year after they graduated their age would probably about 19-20ish just to avoid the confusion

I also apologize for any errors here since I don't have a beta or something and I hardly have the time to proofread this carefully. I usually run over through these twice before posting.

Anyway, any thoughts? I'd love to hear some reactions out there and possibly ideas that I can use for this cause I'm having a hard time thinking of the 'in betweens' of this story. I already pictured out some parts and have an idea of the possible ending already.

Till then!

-127


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

July XX, 2014

Konoemon sat in his office, hands held together under his chin in thought. He was displeased to say the least. Too displeased. News reached him that his granddaugther was pregnant and it didn't sit well with him. He wasn't the type to be familiar with anger but now, it fuelled his emotions. Being the old, wise man he is, he didn't let these emotions get the better of him. He rationalized that acting on such emotions would only bring more problems in the future. So instead of calling his granddaughter he picked up the reciever of the phone that sat on his desk and dialled a familiar number.

...

Setsuna perched on a branch of one of the highest trees in their domain. She had just finished training a while ago and was now familiarizing herself with her surroundings. The tribe is located in one of the densest forests in the Magical World and the trees are even bigger and taller than the World Tree back at Mahora. Looking down from the branch she currently crouched on she barely saw the ground below. She knew though, that the ground had thousands of traps and the only way to pass by unharmed is on top and the easiest way to go up is to fly. Ofcourse there are still ways for those who do not have the same ability as them to go the top. There are select entrances, invisible to the naked eye, that allow them to climb up.

Setsuna's senses perked up and alerted her that someone was coming her way. She squinted her eyes at the direction where it was coming from and even with her enhanced sight it was difficult to identify who it is. She tried to listen more to the sound which was getting louder by the moment and noticed that it was the sound of someone hopping from branch to branch. Whoever it was it was fast. Setsuna noted the pattern of the sound and realized something. 'There's two of them.' As the sounds came closer Setsuna withdrew her wings to avoid any untoward incidents. She waited for a few more minutes before she was able to get a visual of who they were.

"Mana, Kaede," she greeted, surprised to see the two.

"What? Expecting someone else?" Mana smirked hands in her hips. The rifle she loved strapped on her back. Setsuna noted that the gunwoman had a tattered cloak over her.

"Not this early," Setsuna walked towards the two and did a proper greeting, openly noting Mana's state of dress. "You look you've been through something rough."

"It's an old cloak of mine," Mana answered. She muttered a few words in latin and to their surprise the cloak blended her into the surroundings. "Magic."

"How come you never used that before?" Setsuna asked amazed about the cloak's ability.

"Never had the necessity to," Mana shrugged and Setsuna turned to face Kaede. The ninja raised a hand in greeting eyes still squinted as they were years ago, Setsuna couldn't even remember a time where they were open enough to even catch a glimpse of what color they were. Setsuna brushed the thought, it's not as if she would probably know now, and also there were more pressing matters that she needs to attend to.

"Hey Kaede, where's the large shuriken you had on your back then?" Setsuna asked noticing the large scroll that was strapped at the back of the ninja.

"It's a scroll full of weapons de gozaru," Kaede explained patting the tip. "I met someone who taught me to store my weapons in some place and call them out by just this scroll."

"That's really handy," Setsuna remarked putting her hands on her hips. "By the way where's Ku Fei?"

"She's on her way, she went to the Narutaki's since their husbands wanted to learn a bit of martial arts de gozaru."

"Come on," Setsuna motioned to them to follow her before turning her back on them. "Let's get you guys settled, once the others arrive we can inform the tribe so we can start the next meeting."

...

Asuna fidgeted in her seat across Konoka. They were currently in the living room with silence as their other companion. From the clinic Asuna took the empty shell that was Konoka to her and Negi's room knowing well that she couldn't leave the poor mage alone. She couldn't help but think about the unlucky streak Konoka was going through right now. A month before, her lover, as Asuna refused to even think or speak the swordswoman's name, left her. Now, with all the things that was going through, she couldn't believe that the bastard who left Konoka brought even more problems. She was even more frustrated and angry. But she couldn't let it out infront of her friend. Especially when Konoka thinks that Setsuna didn't really leave her, that her grandfather sent her away and that she would come back one of these days.

"Secchan..." Konoka breathed out barely audible to the silent room. Her eyes cast out at the table, but her mind was elsewhere.

SLAM!

Asuna slammed her hands at the table frightening Konoka out of her stupor and stared at Asuna as if she were some crazed demon.

"This! All of this!" Asuna sputtered out words without sense cleary in rage. With hard eyes she looked straight to Konoka's surprised ones. "After all of this! You still call her that?!"

"She left you! Without a trace, a proper goodbye or with any word if she would return! She even told you to forget about her!" Asuna fisted her hands at her sides. She couldn't control her emotions any more. The swordswoman she looked up to and even considered her master when it came to swordfighting hurt her closest friend whom was supposed to be her partner and lover. She felt for Konoka. And what frustrated her is that Konoka seemed to be turning a blind eye from the truth. "How can you still call out her name after what she's done to you?!"

Konoka slowly furrowed her eyes. "It's because I trust her. I'm happy that you're really concerned about me Asuna. But somehow, even with Secchan gone, I can still feel her. It's as if we're connected. I can't explain it. I am angry at her for leaving me like that and with this," Konoka motioned at her stomach. "But it's my right to be angry, and confused, and shocked. With everything going on I can only feel so much. At first I couldn't really accept it. But it made me think that there may be something that's going on that Secchan doesn't want me to be part of. Most probably she's thinking about my safety, as always. I'm sad that she left like that but I'm sure that she trusted me enough to take care of myself while she's away."

"It took me a while to realize that," Konoka added. "What came to a shock was me being pregnant. I never - well only with Secchan. But we're both girls."

"I'm sorry Konoka," was all what Asuna could say. "I guess I was too affected with what happened since you two seemed so perfect together. And you're one of my best and closest friends."

"It's alright Asuna," Konoka made a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I'd be like that too if you were in my shoes."

As they exhanged smiles in understanding Negi came through the door breathing heavily as if he ran to the room.

"I - I finally found Chamo!" He exclaimed between breaths.


End file.
